Opinion
By Steve Nicklas, 8-25-23
You don’t bring a knife to a gun fight. Especially not a dull knife.
Local government officials are unaware of this glaringly obvious secret. While they lose precious tax dollars in costly lawsuits.
Still more government lawsuits are brewing like a fresh concoction at Mocama Beer Company. And yet again, amid messy legal tussles, our government representatives are armed with only butter knives of defense.
In one percolating case, current and former Fernandina Beach officials have verbally assaulted Brett’s Waterway Cafe with exaggerations and inuendoes about the safety of its pier in the downtown marina. It began two years ago. After the Surfside condominium collapsed in South Florida. Then-mayor Mike Lednovich rationalized if it happened there, it could happen here to the pier. In an odd symbiotic relationship.
Since Lednovich’s defeat, fellow commissioner Chip Ross has almost single-handedly prolonged the dispute. In his latest effort, Ross contacted the iconic restaurant’s insurance company with contrived allegations.
This is where Brett’s landlord, Centre Street Restaurant Group, drew the boundary. The company is now threatening a lawsuit against the city for reputational damages, pending a possible arbitration.
Ross’s actions were a “purposeful effort to cause (Brett’s) not to be able to be insured and/or to increase the cost of such insurance, and thereby force the restaurant to close,” according to the company’s attorney.
It’s difficult to explain or defend Ross’s unsolicited action. He should be held responsible for any legal repercussions felt by the city.
In addition, damaging comments from Ross and Lednovich (as well as city attorney Tammi Bach) leave the city in a precarious position — as exposed as a 1970s streaker. The city has studies alleging the pier is weak; the owners have documentation showing it is not. Meanwhile, the city has been instructed to stand down by a circuit court judge (but it is not really listening).
Through discussions and reports, the city “suggests to the public that Brett’s is unsafe,” the company’s attorney said. This has detered potential customers and has hindered hiring and keeping workers.
“Unless a settlement can be reached,” the attorney said, “Brett’s may be required to sue the city to recover the substantial damages it has and continues to suffer.”
In another consequential lawsuit, a respected developer is challenging a staggering $1 million in building and impact fees assessed by the city on the Marriott Courtyard/Springhill Suites hotel at Main Beach. Of his contentions, local builder Ron Flick states the impact fees are exorbitant – and commingled within the city budget. By state law, impact fees must be preserved in a separate account.
As with other lawsuits, Bach kicks the case down the proverbial road, for as long as possible. Trying to bleed legal fees from plaintiffs.
In the meantime, the city rejected a proposed increase in capacity fees of more than 200 percent. Mayor Bradley Bean and commissioners David Sturges and Darron Ayscue voted against the increase. The increase could have eventually triggered another lawsuit.
Like the county, the city has failed miserably in defending itself against lawsuits. The city lost a legal case brought by the former airport operator for well over $1 million. Then, the city lost twice in defending its practice of collecting and using impact fees – having to return $3 million of them. The city responded by renaming the fees and continuing the same practice (as Flick’s lawsuit contends).
Meanwhile, county commissioners lost a monumental lawsuit brought by prominent developer Rayonier Inc. several years ago. And they still seem stunned by it. The final judgement with our supposed corporate partner involves millions of dollars.
In a shocking recent decision, four commissioners voted to accept a one-sided settlement agreement with an outside developer over a precious oceanfront parcel on Amelia Island. Only commissioner Alyson McCullough voted against the agreement to allow Riverstone Properties to build as high as eight stories on the tract on the south end.
Commissioners then hid behind a quasi-gag order recommended by county attorney Denise May. They refused to explain their rationale – in front of several hundred angry residents. The settlement offer was one-sidedly in Riverstone’s favor. It even reimbursed $250,000 in legal fees to Riverstone, so residents wonder how it could be jeopardized by something a commissioner says.
This landmark decision could threaten our idyllic lifestyle. Allowing taller buildings stretches the density here. It’s not over, however. In light of the decision, residents on the south end are banding together to legally challenge the quirky move.
Something is wrong with this picture. Elected officials are elected by the people to represent the people, borrowing a Kamala Harris-type sentence. The people, that is, and not outside interests.
And local officials should stop hiding behind advice from their in-house attorneys. This is clearly not working in the city or in the county. The advice has been disastrous.
After all, the commissioners are elected, not the city or county attorney. The attorneys are appointed by them and work for them; it’s not the other way around.
Most government attorneys are not in private practice for a reason. It’s like the O.J. Simpson trial, with government prosecutor Marcia Clarke battling esteemed private attorneys Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey. It was not even a fair fight, despite the prosecution holding incriminating evidence (i.e., O.J.’s blood at the scene).
Cochran had the gun. And Clarke had a knife. More like a butter knife.
In the future, let’s avoid lawsuits at all costs. If we get into one, let’s be like Johnnie. Not Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.
(Steve Nicklas is the managing partner of Nicklas Wealth Management in Fernandina Beach. He is also an award-winning columnist. His columns regularly appear in weekly newspapers in Northeast Florida and in Southeast Georgia, and on his website at www.SteveNicklasMarketplace.com. He has published a book, “All About Money,” of his favorite columns from the past 20 years. The book is available on Amazon. He has also done financial reports for area radio stations and for National Public Radio in Jacksonville. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 904-753-0236.)
(Steve Nicklas is the managing partner of Nicklas Wealth Management in Fernandina Beach. He is also an award-winning columnist. His columns regularly appear in weekly newspapers in Northeast Florida and in Southeast Georgia, and on his website at www.SteveNicklasMarketplace.com. He has published a book, “All About Money,” of his favorite columns from the past 20 years. The book is available on Amazon. He has also done financial reports for area radio stations and for National Public Radio in Jacksonville. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 904-753-0236.)
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.
